Is the Ecological Footprint Enough Science for Algerian Fisheries Management?

Abstract

There is an urgent need to understand the fishing sector, given the uncertainties and the importance it has gained due to the potential of Algerian waters. The main objective of this paper is to establish a diagnosis of the demand for fishery resources at Algiers fishing ports and provide additional information regarding energy use at a reduced scale. According to the estimated ecological footprint (EF) of fishery production (EFf), Algiers fishing is in the status of ecological surplus, as the demand for fisheries production averages 15,338.49 gha compared to more than 108 thousand gha of biologically productive fishing area. In addition to this overall output, this metric indicates each species’ primary production requirement (PPR), which could help to restructure the fishing effort based on the stock’s condition. For the energy component, the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions expressed in metric tons of CO2 were used to estimate the required area for carbon sequestration, valued roughly at 500 gha. The latter is a reference state and remains approximate because it was derived from unofficial data provided by the fishers. This study demonstrated that EF is informative and could be used for resources management. However, it must be built on precise data and supported by further analysis.